The field of the present inventions relates generally to product distribution systems, and more particularly to centralized distribution methods and systems operated on a wide-area network, i.e., a global computer network such as the internet. With the increased usage of the internet amongst the general population, many retailers and manufacturers have turned to the internet as a means to sell products to consumers. Unfortunately, current methods of conducting electronic commerce (“ecommerce”) have proved suboptimal for retailers, manufacturers, and their consumers.
For example, one of the advantages that a retailer seeks when conducting ecommerce is to eliminate or reduce many of the costs of conducting business through a traditional brick and mortar store front. In practice, however, ecommerce retailers (“etailers”) have been forced to create their own product distribution systems, such as, e.g., maintaining a large network of physical warehouses, thereby vitiating many of the cost savings they originally thought they would realize.
Manufacturers have also faced distribution hurdles when attempting to implement ecommerce strategies. Generally, manufacturers are prepared to distribute their products in bulk to retailers, who then would distribute products to individual consumers. A problem manufacturers must solve when trying to implement a web presence, and ecommerce, is that they must now distribute small quantities of product to individual consumers, rather than the customary bulk quantities to retailers. Another problem manufacturers face is that their retailer relationships may suffer if the retailers complain about lost sales due to the manufacturers' decision to sell directly to a consumer via a web site.
Additionally, with both traditional and ecommerce distribution strategies, manufacturers have typically been unable to capture a complete picture of the final distribution of their products to consumers. This results from the current distribution between manufacturers and retailers wherein retailers place bulk orders from manufacturers, typically at trade shows, that is meant to maintain a supply of product for a given time period, such as a season, a quarter, etc. The current relationship normally results in inefficiencies on many levels. When retailers order too much product, discounting of the manufacturers' products at the end of a time period results. When retailers order too little product, consumers are left unserved or underserved. In certain cases, retailers may purposefully order too much product in order to sell that product to other retailers with whom the manufacturer does not have, or has chosen not to have, a relationship. This type of activity is referred to as “backdooring” product. Due to these, and other, inefficiencies in the distribution chain from manufacturer to retailer, manufacturers often suffer from decreased brand protection and decreased customer loyalty. The current arrangements also deprive manufacturers of valuable direct market data, i.e., exactly what is being sold to consumers, since retailers maintain the direct sales information.
The individual consumer is also not always satisfied with the current ecommerce experience. Currently, buying from etailers is much like purchasing from catalogs. The consumer will order from a web site run by an etailer who will typically ship the product to the consumer from a remote warehouse. With current ecommerce methods, consumers are deprived of the in-person customer service that they normally received when shopping at a physical store. Also, consumers dealing with an etailer who only ships from a remote warehouse and does not maintain a physical store front will often encounter problems returning merchandise when their orders are unsatisfactory. Moreover, current ecommerce methods typically do not allow consumers the option of picking up items from or returning items to a physical location near their residence, thereby causing more inconveniences for the typical consumer.
Those skilled in the art have failed to provide for a fully integrated product distribution method that enables retailers, manufacturers, and indirect sellers, such as, e.g., ecommerce web sites, to better implement ecommerce strategies. Consequently, the present inventors have recognized a need for a distribution method and system that enables manufacturers to implement ecommerce strategies without having to establish their own consumer distribution networks, that enables indirect sellers and retailers to conduct ecommerce without having to establish costly, and counterintuitive, physical warehouse locations, and that enables consumers to benefit from dealing with a local retailer rather than only with a remotely located etailer. The present inventions address these and other problems.